Beginner looking for guidance on LLMs / AI tools and ecosystem

tritonas

Potato del Grande
114
10
Hey everyone, I’m a complete beginner in LLMs / AI and I’m trying to figure out where to start 😅

I’d really like to learn:

which LLMs are actually worth using today,
open-source vs paid/closed models,
whether it makes more sense to run things locally or use cloud/APIs,
concepts like fine-tuning, RAG, agents, and how they are used in practice,
and what a real-world workflow looks like when working with these tools.

I’m also a bit confused about:

free plans,
trials,
subscriptions,
credits,
API pricing,
and which tools are actually worth using when you’re just getting started.

If anyone has recommendations for:

beginner roadmaps,
tutorials/courses,
YouTube channels,
communities,
or even “what I would do if I started today” advice,

it would be massively appreciated